Iseman officially takes over Dixon football

Dixon football coach Brandon Iseman talks to Gavin Brinkley before a game last season. Iseman has been officially named the Bulldogs’ coach after serving as interim coach last year.

Rick Scoppe/The Daily News

By Chris Miller/Chris.Miller@JDNews.com

Published: Saturday, May 3, 2014 at 08:00 AM.

DIXON – Brandon Iseman’s interim coaching label has been removed.

Iseman has officially been named head football coach at Dixon High after coach Ray Swaney stepped down during his visit home last month from his deployment in Afghanistan with the Army Reserves.

Iseman served as interim head coach last season while Swaney was deployed, leading the Bulldogs to a 5-6 overall record and a 1-4 mark in the East Central 2-A Conference.

“It’s exciting,” Iseman said Thursday. “We just want to keep it rolling, keep getting better and hopefully take this program and take steps forward.”

Dixon Principal Vikki Childress said Swaney had hinted in recent years that he could step down after he joined the Army Reserves in 2010. Swaney was deployed to Afghanistan in July, returned home for a short time last month and is now back overseas.

Swaney is scheduled to come back home in July and to return to teaching at Dixon. He will also be an assistant athletic director.

“Ray had given us a heads up a few years ago that he felt like at some point in time that he had to step back when the Army career progressed,” Childress said. “We went out looking for someone to groom and get ready to take over the spot and we found Brandon. We were looking for someone who played college ball, someone who was very composed and who could do what they needed to do. Brandon was our guy.

“He’s impressed us for the two years he’s been on the sidelines and we are looking forward to him leading and totally being in control of the boys.”

Iseman is from Florence, S.C., and was a left guard at Methodist University in Fayetteville. After graduating college in 2010, he became a teacher at Dillard Middle School in Goldsboro while also helping coach football at Spring Creek High.

Iseman came to Dixon in November of 2011 as a health and physical education teacher.

Last June, Iseman was named Dixon’s interim coach, but now he knows he’s fully in charge of the football program.

“I think it does (feel different),” the 26-year-old Iseman said. “As far as day-to-day running of the program not a whole lot changes. But I think it does help me settle into a comfort zone knowing I can really put my stamp on it. Coach Swaney was a great coach and he helped me learn a lot. But now I feel like I can step out and hopefully leave my mark on the program.”

Iseman said he also learned a lot while being the man in charge of the Bulldogs.

Last year, Dixon opened 4-0 before dropping its final two nonconference games entering ECC play. It was the Bulldogs’ first season as a 2-A school following statewide realignment that moved Dixon up from 1-A.

“I think I would tell anybody that you’re never ready to be a head coach until you’re a head coach,” Iseman said. “There’s things that come about on a daily basis that you don’t exactly go through in your mind how you would handle. You have to handle them on the spot.”

Childress was pleased with Iseman’s job last year.

“Our goal last year was to be competitive and we were,” she said. “Our goal this year is to still be competitive and maybe win a couple of more games in the conference. We are a team on the rise and this is going to be a program to watch.”

Iseman is hoping for that, too. He said the team has begun offseason workouts leading up to the first day of practice Aug. 1 and the regular-season opener Aug. 22 at home against First Flight.

“We’ve been working four out of five days a week on skill development,” said Iseman, adding many of his players have weight training for a class. “We are trying to become more fundamentally sound and taking things at a slower speed during the spring. That’s our focus right now.”

Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published
without permission. Links are encouraged.

Iseman has officially been named head football coach at Dixon High after coach Ray Swaney stepped down during his visit home last month from his deployment in Afghanistan with the Army Reserves.

Iseman served as interim head coach last season while Swaney was deployed, leading the Bulldogs to a 5-6 overall record and a 1-4 mark in the East Central 2-A Conference.

“It’s exciting,” Iseman said Thursday. “We just want to keep it rolling, keep getting better and hopefully take this program and take steps forward.”

Dixon Principal Vikki Childress said Swaney had hinted in recent years that he could step down after he joined the Army Reserves in 2010. Swaney was deployed to Afghanistan in July, returned home for a short time last month and is now back overseas.

Swaney is scheduled to come back home in July and to return to teaching at Dixon. He will also be an assistant athletic director.

“Ray had given us a heads up a few years ago that he felt like at some point in time that he had to step back when the Army career progressed,” Childress said. “We went out looking for someone to groom and get ready to take over the spot and we found Brandon. We were looking for someone who played college ball, someone who was very composed and who could do what they needed to do. Brandon was our guy.

“He’s impressed us for the two years he’s been on the sidelines and we are looking forward to him leading and totally being in control of the boys.”

Iseman is from Florence, S.C., and was a left guard at Methodist University in Fayetteville. After graduating college in 2010, he became a teacher at Dillard Middle School in Goldsboro while also helping coach football at Spring Creek High.

Iseman came to Dixon in November of 2011 as a health and physical education teacher.

Last June, Iseman was named Dixon’s interim coach, but now he knows he’s fully in charge of the football program.

“I think it does (feel different),” the 26-year-old Iseman said. “As far as day-to-day running of the program not a whole lot changes. But I think it does help me settle into a comfort zone knowing I can really put my stamp on it. Coach Swaney was a great coach and he helped me learn a lot. But now I feel like I can step out and hopefully leave my mark on the program.”

Iseman said he also learned a lot while being the man in charge of the Bulldogs.

Last year, Dixon opened 4-0 before dropping its final two nonconference games entering ECC play. It was the Bulldogs’ first season as a 2-A school following statewide realignment that moved Dixon up from 1-A.

“I think I would tell anybody that you’re never ready to be a head coach until you’re a head coach,” Iseman said. “There’s things that come about on a daily basis that you don’t exactly go through in your mind how you would handle. You have to handle them on the spot.”

Childress was pleased with Iseman’s job last year.

“Our goal last year was to be competitive and we were,” she said. “Our goal this year is to still be competitive and maybe win a couple of more games in the conference. We are a team on the rise and this is going to be a program to watch.”

Iseman is hoping for that, too. He said the team has begun offseason workouts leading up to the first day of practice Aug. 1 and the regular-season opener Aug. 22 at home against First Flight.

“We’ve been working four out of five days a week on skill development,” said Iseman, adding many of his players have weight training for a class. “We are trying to become more fundamentally sound and taking things at a slower speed during the spring. That’s our focus right now.”